Looking for advice/ thoughts FWC purchase

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

Hi,

I am a firefighter, medic and rescue specialist. aside from loving to overland my job routinely finds me in extreme terrain and weather for extended amounts of time. I have an 2004 Chevy 2500, crew cab short box. It has a chip, intake(I wish ARB had a snorkel for it) and airbags just to name a few. I am in the process of research and development of a camper i can put on it and use. I had always dismissed FWC due to their lack of a self contained, lavatory and shower model. ( i find these are needed for extended stays, and to stay clean for rescues) I have now heard that they are producing a model that includes those. I like FWC as they are light weight, and well built. My concerns are with the ability of these campers to handle the weather I often encounter. Think desert 100 degree days in the summer and winter's that dip bellow 0. I have done a good amount of reading and trolling the net and message boards, and have found little negative about these rigs. I would like the thoughts, advice from any of you who have knowledge dealing with fwc, or any platforms you think would fit my needs.


The other camper i was greatly considering was an outfitter apex 8. Aside from being more expensive, 7 inches wider, 2ft longer and 800ibs heaver a good choice. I know its kinda like comparing apples and oranges.

either platform needs to have a cassette toilet, shower, self contained abilities. and Either would be outfitted with a 200+watt solar array,AGM batteries, engel, or arb fridge/freezer.

I would love any thoughts you guys have thanks, and by all means ask any thing you want to.

 

[topofpalomar]

Four Wheel campers are excellent for the reasons you mentioned. Our only reason for not considering them in the past has to do with lack of storage. The boss lady does not want to store stuff in totes. Period. We like the storage room afforded by other pop up campers (under bed storage for clothes, etc). We still get our rig into some pretty rough spots (2006 Chevy 2500 4X4 long bed single cab diesel with older Apache slide in pop up). I'd ponder that aspect if you're at incidents for extended periods of time and have lots of gear to stow, although you may be okay with that. Just something to think about.

I've camped for days at a time in the summer desert heat (think Death Valley in August) and find the zip open windows on pop up campers are an advantage, but not a lot when temps are 100 plus and no breeze. As you can imagine, cold weather is also tough in pop up campers unless you use arctic packs for the sides and run that heater, but certainly doable.

You mentioned the Apex 8. Does the wider, longer aspect better fit your intended use? More storage room. More room to move around in. Something to take into account. If you want the lower profile, more off-road-ability rig, go Four Wheel Camper, ATC etc. If you want the room and can get the truck and camper into the remote locations that you frequent, I'd sure look at the bigger Apex, or something similar. You might even consider a custom made instead of an off the shelf unit. Just my .02. Thanks for your service!

Yours in Safety, Cliff (Battalion 79)

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

Cliff,

Yes arctic packs are available with both FWC and outfitter and a option i would be including. And the large AGM battery bank and solar panels should keep plenty of power for radios, computer, maybe a ac unit or heater. Honestly i would prefer to go away from propane for heating water and camper, but have yet to figure the insane wattage amount this would require. Just on the fact that with enough solar power would decrease my dependence on propane.

Right now the truck has a normal bed but w/ 160000+ ranch and farm miles it will soon have a flat bed. I've even put some thought into a service body but decided with the flat bed it will have under body boxes anyway, and with some fabricating I can have some foldaway sides on it and strap some boxes there as well. One thing About the Crew cab, the rear seats fold flat which allows for a large storage area for stowage of equipment.

I like how the outfitters have the area to the sides and under the bed for storage. ( as does northstar, but I dont trust the wood frame and rough roads) I am also a little leery of the slide away bed on the FWC campers.
if i was going to have more then just me, it would be the outfitter no question. It seems i have some more pondering to do.

Thanks for the service of you and Battalion 79, and the input

always a pleasure to meet another from the brotherhood

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

Klahanie, I did look some at the Hallmark's the ute/everest has a wet weight of 2600ibs(per their website) The outfitter apex 8(1430, dry) and for kicks the Juno( a really cool design is 1850ibs dry) and the Hawk as 750ibs(dry base w/o options so lets say 1000ibs with solar and batteries)

For whatever reason, ( I know everyone is busy) Outfitter was really helpful and quick at answering questions, finding someone local w/ a model i could look at. And to be honest, hallmark was not as "easy" to deal with. I am not trying to step on toes from what i found they make a solid camper. I will contact them again to see what they can do. From what i understand the two companies started together, and then separated due to differences. Both mfg's share some characteristics. I had originally dismissed FWC, due to the lack of the self contained model however now that they have one i have decided to look into them again.

I do like the window covers you are talking about, it seems one could also make some?

From what I understand the outfitter and Hallmark campers could still be used, to sleep( on the dinette) or use the lavatory with the top down. If things got really hairy due to weather, or ..unstable enviorment. Where as the FWC that is not an option as well suited. I do really like that extra inside height and storage under the bed.

I have looked at Aluminum as a bed option, and should prob talk to alumlight( i think is the name of the company out of CA, that custom makes bumpers, beds, etc) And I have yet to decide. As far as Fabing i can do a fair amount. Prob would not win any awards for being beautiful but it will hold.

I don't know at all how FWC's handle temp extremes. The Hallmark and outfitter's I like. Have lots of room, great reviews, well built, and also heaver. I am struggling with this: Should I go for the outfitter or hallmark-which i know will meet my needs, even if and when i expand to a wife and kids. Or should i Start with something...less, and then build up to something else if needed.

All though either is a step up from the tent, setup i currently use

Thanks for all the incite,

If i may what kind of rig do you run?

 

[tnt]

PNY,

As long as you are already going to a flatbed, here are a couple of options. All Terrain is the previous owner of Four Wheel and builds a very similar camper. They recently built a camper for a flatbed. You can read about it here: http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/index.php?/topic/5112/

Another option is an XP Camper. Yes, they are pricey but the flatbed is included so that is money you are already planning to spend. They are built more to the standards of a true expedition vehicle and not as a recreational camper which is what FWC and ATC are. Don't get me wrong, I have a FWC and use it a lot year round. But for the conditions and needs you describe, an XP would be a much better choice, IMO.

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

klahanie, i like that set up. I imagine mine will be close to that. Thanks. Im trying to decide on what flat bed i want. I can get a all aluminum bed that weighs a mere 400ibs. Or a steel bed that will require minimal moding on my part one i actually like better. But its got a weight of 900ibs. So im working on trying to figure out how big of a dif that weight difference will make. Taking into account this is also my daily driver. My apologies for the delayed response as its been busy on the ranch and have another set of state medical boards coming up.

TNT, thanks ill look into those as well.